Why we should all care about Afghanistan?
The answer, or at least the short answer, is because there is human life at stake. At the moment of writing this article probably millions and thousands of Afghanistan citizens are dead or dying, according to the latest stats, there are more than 47,000 civilians killed, Afghan national military and police: 66,000 and thousands more injured, and foreign soldiers killed and injured, the numbers still counting…
Last Sunday, the capital Kabul fell under Taliban rule and the gates through hell were open wide as thousands of civilians are killed, women are raped and abducted, and the cries of young children can be heard everywhere. While you are reading this article the Taliban soldiers are marching through the cities and killing, wiping up Afghanistan people like flies in their quest to establish a new order.
Taliban soldiers and supporters are discriminate against women’s rights and children freedom and putting at stake the destiny of children and women today:
They want women to wear a burka and not to have a choice whether they want to do it or not; The question here is not whether to wear one or not but the lack of freedom and choice, not being asked, but being told what to do.
They do not approve of women wearing makeup or particular clothes;
During the Taliban influence between 1996 and 2001, women were not permitted to work, didn’t have the right to study, and were not allowed to leave their house without a male figure being present with them.
What they do is making women their own property, a figure without importance, her voice and opinion is not something to consider, a female figure has only one right- to bear children and listen to her husband. She is not allowed to hold a different opinion on matters that don’t concern her, she doesn’t need to be educated as she needs to be always under the mercy of her husband and he is the one who knows everything and she knows nothing.
Meanwhile:
Female students are not allowed to enter Herat University while the Taliban allow only male students to be present.
Women are dragged into forced marriages and abducted on daily basis and one of the few options remaining is either to flee or married forcibly.
Young women are reported to be abducted and raped and threw into rovers or killed by Taliban soldiers.
The atrocities continue and on and as I watched Twitter and reading the news my eyes filled with tears and my soul fed on anger and resentment, wondering why such things are happening and how is that possible in the 21st century? Where are the United Nations now, why the world turns a blind eye to this?
To cut the long story short, that is the failed project of the United Nations to resolving a conflict on a global scale, as we can witness three periods of war and peace there. The periods can be summarised in a way that shows that there was not a single prolonged period of stability and the conflict has been an ongoing issue. Few lessons need to be learned here:
1. Uncertainty-especially on large scale -induces corruption -the corruption in 2001 among anti-Taliban occupation reached so significant proportions that a solution without outside interference cannot be reached as on the inside the resistance levels are likely to change.
2. Settling down for peace is not the answer every time as peacemaking could prove to be short-lived and could erupt in a new cycle of war, especially when negotiations are not plausible to accomplish.
3. Peace mediators and timing is crucial as in a moment of peace the conditions should be preserved and the role of mediators is to interfere if there is something that can disrupt the peace. The same is true in times of a war period -the sooner, the better a resistance needs to interfere as we wait the attacks could gain strength and the agents may gain political and economic power to remain stable and indestructible. We should not abandon them now as later it may be far too late and we may witness irreversible consequences.
Speaking of that now is the time to interfere and the world to take action, otherwise, we may see the destruction of Afghanistan state and millions dying, destroying culture, history, and heritage.
Why I care, why… I am not from Afghanistan, and I don’t have any cultural heritage that ties me with anyone there. I will tell you why…
Because I am human and I see that as a violation of human nature, dignity, one cultural heritage, and history.
Because I am a woman and I cannot bear to see how millions of young women and girls are thrown into the hands of people that see them as nothing more as children-bearers and I cannot justify the atrocities and the pain they have to endure and experience.
Last but not least, I have grown up with stories of how my country, Bulgaria, has been part of the Ottoman empire, and how our culture and heritage were almost wiped out in the past, and how the political interests and incorrectness stopped others from helping my country. And I can believe that’s happening today but in another place and the world is just watching…
What we can do even from distance!
1. Share content on social media- the more people heard about it, the better.
2. Donate- you can easily donate money and help -UNICEF — https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/donate-and-help-protect-children-in-afghanistan/?gclid=CjwKCAjw3_KIBhA2EiwAaAAliiT810Tyg1cd0nPtXQp46s4mwSoE6wyl4y9wrixPH5vPMFix8icaDRoC-wcQAvD_BwE
Or Save the Children — https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/where-we- work/asia/afghanistan
Afghanaid- https://www.afghanaid.org.uk/donate/donate/20
3. Use #WelcomeRefugee to appeal to local governments and MPs if you are based in the UK
4. Raise awareness about the issue and don’t turn a blind eye to it
Every effort and every help counts!
